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    Underbelly's last meal

    Chris Shepherd reveals Underbelly's bittersweet closing date, thanks Houstonians

    Eric Sandler
    Mar 2, 2018 | 11:51 am
    Underbelly
    Underbelly will close March 31.
    Photo by Julie Soefer

    The final countdown has begun for Underbelly. The celebrated Houston restaurant will close March 31, the restaurant announced Thursday.

    We've spent six years "reppin' Houston with love," and we're not stopping any time soon. We opened Underbelly to thank our city for being such an inspiration to us and to show the world how badass Houston is. Thank you to the farmers, the ranchers and the fisherman for providing us with such incredible product. Thank you to our city and all the cultures that exist within it for always inspiring us. Thank you to our staff for believing in our vision and helping us execute it every day. Our last day of service will be March 31, and we’re throwing a party on April 1. Details in our bio.

    A post shared by Underbelly (@underbellyhou) on

    Mar 1, 2018 at 10:58am PST

    Hay Merchant will also close April 2 to make renovations to its beer cooler. When it reopens April 22, it will begin serving lunch as well as a few of Underbelly's signature items, such as the celebrated Korean goat and dumplings.

    That this day would come isn't a surprise. Chef-owner Chris Shepherd and business partner Kevin Floyd originally announced their plans in December. In its place, the space will become a new restaurant called Georgia James, a steakhouse inspired by One Fifth Steak that's slated to open this summer. Underbelly will morph into a new restaurant called UB Preserv that will open in the former Poscol space in mid-April.

    Since opening in March 2012, Underbelly has become one of Houston's most prominent restaurants. Chef-owner Chris Shepherd broke Houston's 22-year long drought in the James Beard Best Chef: Southwest category for his innovative cuisine that utilized carefully-sourced, locally-grown to create dishes inspired by Houston's immigrant communities. Underbelly never made any secret of its sourcing; pictures of the people and places that inspired its cooking hang on a wall by the entrance.

    It has also served as an important training ground for the next generation of culinary talent. Ryan Lachaine (Riel), Lyle Bento (Southern Goods), and Patrick Feges (Feges BBQ) have all gone on to launch their own projects. James Beard Rising Star Chef winner Daniela Soto-Innes worked on Underbelly's opening crew before moving to New York to join up with superstar Mexican chef Enrique Olvera on his award-winning restaurants Cosme and Atla.

    The restaurant doesn't have any specific plans to bring back former cooks or revive favorite dishes during its final month, but either of those things are certainly possible. It will celebrate both its closing and the sixth birthday of its sister concept Hay Merchant with a party on April 1 that will include food, beer from Sierra Nevada, and Makers Mark cocktails. Tickets are available for $40.

    Shepherd has mostly kept his plans for UB Preserv under wraps, but he did offer diners a preview last week during a pop-up at Fluff Bake Bar. His dishes included Sichuan-style pork dumplings, char siu octopus with chili sesame puree, and a dim sum-style scallion pancake filled with pork. Which of these dishes make the menu remains to be seen, but Lindsey Brown, Shepherd's longtime girlfriend and publicist, said she's challenged him to make Houston's best dumplings.

    That sounds like a pretty good start.

    closingschefs
    news/restaurants-bars

    he finished the job

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 13, 2025 | 9:05 am
    Top Chef Tristen Epps
    Photo by David Moir/Bravo
    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

    Houston has played a leading role in America’s culinary scene, but the city has never been home to a Top Chef winner — until last night. In the final episode of season 22, chef Tristen Epps earned the title and a $250,000 cash prize.

    Epps secured his victory by remaining true to the Afro-Caribbean cuisine that helped him secured an impressive four Elimination Challenge wins and $35,000 in additional prize money from two Quickfire wins and as a member of the team that won the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge. His four-course menu took a panel of celebrity judges on a journey that also referenced the finale location of Milan, Italy.

    In particular, Epps wowed the panel with his second course — Chicken “Durango” with injera shrimp toast and shellfish jus — that referenced both the Ethiopian chicken stew doro wat and the Italian dish pollo durango, a sly nod to the history of imperialism between the two countries. He finished his savory offerings with Oxtail Milanese Crepinette with Carolina Gold rice grits, curry butter, and bone marrow gremolata, which earned praised from the panel.

    “Historically, we’ve been underserved oxtail,” Top Chef alum and James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet said during the episode. “Tristen took the time to pull it, create that beautiful, huge, maybe too big, portion of oxtail. And cover it with that gremolata. He did not forget the bone marrow. That’s very, very smart.”

    Throughout Top Chef’s run, Epps has been holding a series of pop-ups devoted to everything from hot dogs to steakhouses. Now, he can turn his attention to Buboy, a tasting menu concept that will celebrate the Afro-Caribbean cuisine he championed throughout his time on the show.

    CultureMap caught up with Epps on Friday morning for a brief chat about his victory and what’s next.

    CultureMap: What do you remember from the day you cooked that final dinner?
    Tristen Epps: It was an extreme amount of focus. A lot of writing in my notebook. I didn’t want to laugh. I didn’t want to cry or do anything except finish the job, regardless of whatever the outcome would have been. I remember wanting to call my mom. I really wanted to talk things out so I could calm myself down and stay within my focus. Once I got into cooking, I felt so much at ease. It’s my happy place. It’s my serenity.

    CM: How did you feel when you saw Gregory Gourdet on the panel? Did you feel like you had an advocate in the room?
    TE: I’ve cooked with gregory before, a long time ago. It was really fun. I loved what he was doing.

    I felt like I had kind of an advocate. I was worried my food wold be too spicy or too overpowering [for the European chefs]. Seeing Gregory was really good, especially with what I was doing.

    CM: Other chefs, including Gregory Gourdet and Houston chef Dawn Burrell, have done well on the show with Afro-Caribbean cuisine but they didn’t win. How important was it to you to finish the job and use those flavors to win the title?
    TE: To me that was super important. There’s adventurous people who make phenomenal food. They’ll go once because it’s interesting, bu they’re usually skeptical. When you don’t nail it, they say, that’s why I go to the regular places that are familiar.

    Finishing the job was really important to me. People have come up short on this. I wanted to get this right for everyone who’s made that step forward and created the ladder.

    CM: What have your last 12 hours been like since the episode aired? Have any celebrities reached out to you?
    TE: A lot of calls, a lot of good luck. A lot of everything. It’s been amazing.

    A lot of past Top Chef winners reached out to me, giving me a lot of support and telling me what they did after they won.

    [ESPN football commentator] Mina Kimes did, which was really cool.

    CM: What are your plans for the prize money?
    TE: It’s going to go to Buboy. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it can go a little faster.

    CM: You’ve been holding a series of pop-ups that range from tasting menus to hot dogs? What’s next?
    TE: Part of getting the restaurant open has been introducing myself to all of Houston. These pop-ups represent my interests and my fun. They’re the things that Buboy is going to represent. It can be fun, it can be a conversation, it can be educational, it can push the limits of cuisines we know. It’s an expression of culture in whatever way I see fit that day.

    The hot dog concept will probably be a separate venture, but who’s to say there’s not a hot dog at the end of that meal?

    Top Chef Tristen Epps
      

    Photo by David Moir/Bravo

    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

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